That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.
--Neil Armstrong
The Apollo 11 mission was the first manned lunar landing. It was the fifth manned mission in the Apollo program.
- Launched: July 16, 1969
- Returned: July 24, 1969
- Crew members: Neil Armstrong, commander; Michael Collins, command module pilot; [Buzz Aldrin]?, lunar module pilot
- Command module: Columbia
- Lunar module: Eagle
- Landed: July 20, 1969
- Lunar landing site: 1.1 N, 23.8 E -- Mare Tranquilitatis (Sea of Calmness)
- On surface: 21.6 hours
- Lunar EVA: 2.5 hours
- Samples: 22 kg
Armstrong became the first man to walk on the Moon, followed by Aldrin. Collins remained in orbit above the Moon.
Mission notes
- During the descent to the lunar surface, the astronauts noticed that the intended landing site was rockier than surveillance photographs had indicated. Armstrong took manual control of the lunar module at that point, and guided it to a landing on a smoother patch of ground.
- The famous quote at the top of this page is actually the result of an error. Armstrong was to have said "That's one small step for a man, ..." since man and mankind can be taken as identical. In the excitement of the moment, Armstrong dropped the a, and grammarians have been pointing it out ever since.
/Talk